Baseball buddies

A group of buddies from Mercer County bonded by baseball head to Cincinnati annually for Major League Baseball Opening Day.

The group has grown old, but the tradition has not.

"We still act like little boys at their first Reds game every year, even though none of us recover the next morning like we used to," said Romie Schwieterman, who signed with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent after graduating from Bowling Green State University in the 1970s. "But we all do rally, and on the actual Opening Day, first thing in the morning, we turn the bills of our caps a little to one side and say to one another, 'We going to (the) ball game!'"

They have seen a lot of ball games.

The current Opening-Day attendance standings: 1) Schwieterman 40, 2) Joe Bidlack and Doug Thobe 38 apiece, 4) Jeff Muhlenkamp 36, 5) Myron Stucke 32, 6) Allison Stucke (Myron's sister) 30, 7) Charlie Seitz 29. Frank Schwieterman, Clancy Stahl and Dave (Fish-Mo) Stammen also used to be a part of the trip. Children of the group have joined in on the festivities, too. 

"Myron played baseball for a zillion years, (Romie) did, I did, Doug did. We're all baseball guys," said Bidlack, who co-owned McSports and McSober's Saloon with Schwieterman. "It's the start of the season for our favorite sport and our favorite team."

The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the start of MLB last week. Until the season begins, all they are left with is baseball memories - of which they have a lot.

"We saw 75-degree games," Schwieterman said. "We saw snow squalls and 30-degree games. We saw John McSherry, the home plate ump, collapse and die of an aneurysm in the first inning of a game, which they canceled. We got home later that night than we normally did after a nine-inning game. We saw Reds walk-off wins after home runs by Joe Randa and Ramon Hernandez. We saw a whole lot of awesome ball players on both sides of the field, including various future Hall of Famers. Lots of things have changed down in Cincy, but what has stayed the same is the excitement that comes in knowing that soon it will be yet another Reds opening day, and now we have added our kids."

"I'll never forget this; when Ken Griffey Jr. came back and had that very first plate appearance, there were no lines for beer," Bidlack recalled. "Everybody left the concession stands and crowded up just to see his first at-bat. That's how big that was."

And they can always count on seeing familiar faces at the ballpark.

"We'd always run into Bud and Red Mescher from Maria Stein - they had 57 Opening Days under their belts," Schwieterman said. "Some lady is leading the pack for most Opening Days with 78. Wow! Only 38 behind."

Baseball is America's national pastime. Baseball and having a good time is their pastime. The group always visits the Millennium Hotel Bar and Side Door Lounge in Cincinnati. The stories these gentlemen have outside the stadium are more entertaining than some of the games they've seen (some just aren't suitable for publication, however).

They've hung with Reds' media personalities and players, and pretended to be them. Seitz once got mistaken as former Cincy pitcher Ron Robinson after a game. He went with it, signing autographs on napkins for random bar patrons. 

"He said his arm was stiff and was grabbing his left shoulder," Schwieterman recalled. "We whispered 'Charlie, he's right handed.'"

Thobe has impersonated a Red, too.

"We told these old guys that Doug Thobe was Alex Trevino, a Reds back-up catcher," Schwieterman added. "They told him to get to the game. Doug says if he ain't starting behind the plate, he'll get there whenever."

A member of the group had a Cincinnati player stay at his house. In 1986, Reds pitcher Tom Browning spoke at a Rockford Eagles benefit. He wound up at McSober's with the boys that night and slept at Stucke's place.

"We ran into him at the (Holy Grail Tavern & Grill) when we were there for the All-Star Game the other year," Stucke explained. "My brother was with me and he said 'Let's go talk to Tom.' I said 'He isn't going to remember me.' We walked over, he pointed at me and said 'Hey, I stayed at your house one time.' And he calls me McSober's. He doesn't know my name. He calls me McSober's when he sees me."

At the Wally Post golf outing, Schwieterman, Bidlack and Seitz got to play in a foursome with former Reds pitcher and broadcaster Joe Nuxhall. The crew spent most of the day hanging out with Nuxhall, Jim O'Toole and Tommy Helms.

"We were at the Elks sitting at a round table and listening to those guys tell stories for three hours and getting rounds," Bidlack said. "Oh my Lord, it was just fabulous stuff."

Exactly when this year's Opening Day will happen is unknown. But the baseball buddies are ready for when that day comes.

"Opening Day is like a spring ritual for us," Thobe said. "We always look forward to it. In fact, we start a countdown after Opening Day is over."